Bathtub seat



I. A. KARLSSON ETAL Aug. 17, 1954 BATI-ITUB SEAT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 28, 1950 aa 1. 3/. Q2 5/ j 1 5 Aug. 17, 1954 I. A. KARLSSON EI'AL 2,686,557

BATHTUB SEAT Filed Oct. 28. 1950 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTORS Aug. 17, 1954 I. A. KARLSSON EIAL 2,686,557

BATHTUB SEAT Filed Oct. 28, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Aug. I7, 1954 ATENT OFFICE 2,686,557 BATHTUB SEAT Ione A. Karlsson and Elof K. Karlsson, Moline, Ill.

Application October 28, 1950, Serial No. 192,736

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a new and improved bathtub seat.

A principal object of this invention is to provide a vertically shiftable seat for use in bathtubs by handicapped persons.

An important object of this invention is the provision of means in an elevating seat for bathtub use wherein the seat and its operating mechanisms may be moved to an out-of-the-way position for ordinary use of the tub by persons not requiring an elevatable seat.

Another important object of this invention is to supply a chair for bath-tubs in which hydraulic means is employed to raise the chair from a position in the bottom of the tub to a position adjacent the top of the tub.

A further important object of this invention is to provide a bath-tub chair shiftable vertically Within the tub by a manually operable hydraulic pump.

Another and still further important object of this invention is the provision of means for storing a bath-tub chair against a wall adiacentto and above the tub and employing hinge means about which the chair may be swung downwardly into operating position within the tub.

A still further object of this invention relates to a spring counterbalancing means to normally urge the seat downwardly when the seat is in use in the tub and normally hold it in an up outof-the-way position when the seat is not in use.

Other and further important objects of this invention will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, showing the bath-tub seat of this invention in operating position.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the bath-tub seat as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view similar to Figure 1 with the seat in storage position.

Figure 4 is a front view of the storage position of the seat.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view, partially in section, of the adjustable means for seat inclination.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 65 of Figure 1.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 'l--'l of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail View, partially in section, of the back rest support.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral It indicates generally the floor of a bathroom or the like. The numeral ii indicates a wall disposed vertically with respect to the floor Iii. A bath-tub I2 is positioned on the floor it abutting the vertical wall H. The bath-tub I2 is provided with a bottom [3, side walls I t and an end if).

As best shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, a generally vertically disposed supporting board it is fastened to the bathroom wall H by screw or bolt means as shown at IT. The supporting board [6 provides the means for carrying the bath-tub seat of this invention. A V-shaped frame structure 18 forming a part of the bathtube seat apparatus is equipped with arms [9 and 20 disposed in an inverted V-shape. A flange 2| of the arm is lies flat against the board 5. Similarly a flange 22 of the arm 2% lies flat against the board it. Bolts or screw members 23 pass through the flange members 2! and 22 and through the board 16 to hold the V-shaped frame structure i8 rigidly with the supporting board IS.

The arms I9 and 2d are provided with outwardly extending flanges 2i and 25 respectively. The lower spaced apart ends of the flanges 24 and 25 carry hinge members 2"! and 28 respectively. A hinge shaft 29 in the form of a square rod is journaled in the hinge socket members 2'! and 28 for rotatable movement.

Spaced arms 30 and 3i are welded or otherwise fastened to the hinge shaft 29 and as shown in Figures 1 and 2 project upwardly and slightly forwardly. The weld attachments of these spaced arms 30 and 3| are indicated by the numerals 32 and 33 respectively. A block member 34 is pivotally mounted between the spaced arms 30 and iii by means Of a bolt or hinge pin 35 passing through the arms 39 and 3! and through the block 3 3. An offset portion of the block 34 is indicated by the numeral 36 and is adapted to rigidly carry a rod member 31 which extends upwardly and rearwardly.

The upper ends of the arms is and 2s come together and form a. tie member as shown at 38 to constitute a loose guide or journal for the upper extension of the rod 3T. A coil spring 39 surrounds the rod 3? and at one end abuts the stationary tie or guide member 38. An adjustable collar 48 having a set screw 4| is mounted on the rod 3! near its connection with the block member 34. The other end of the spring 39 reacts against the collar 49 and thus imparts a downward force against the block 3 Thus when the bath-tub seat is up in storage position adjacent the back board [6 the spring 39 acts to hold it in an up out-of-the-way position.

Similarly the spring 39 tends to maintain the seat down in the tub when the seat is in use. This is accomplished by the angular positioning of the spring in combination with the offset block 34.

Downwardly depending spaced guide rods 42 and 43 are rigidly fastened to the hinge shaft 29 at 44 and 45 respectively and are thus integral with the upwardly extending spaced arms 39 and 3!. A seat back rest 46 having perforations 41 is slidably carried on the guide rods 52 and 43 through spaced apertures 48 and 49 respectively. Tie members 55 and 50 are joined to the ends of the guide rods 42 and 53 respectively as best shown in Figure 6 by means of welds 5i and 52. A holdout or back rest spacer device 53 is provided to maintain the spacing between the lower end of the seat back 59 and the apparatus supporting board H5. A board abutting member in the form of an angle iron 54 is supported on spaced rods 55 and 56 projecting outwardly from the tie members 5i) and 59 respectively, and it is thus apparent that these several elements constitute the back rest spacer As best shown in Fig. 8 the rod 55 passes through an opening in the tie member 50*, and by means of nuts 55 and 55 the rod is fixed with respect to the guide rod and the tie member.

A hydraulic cylinder 5'! having a plug 5! in the bottom thereof is fastened intermediate the tie members 59 and 50 by means of welds 58 and 58* as shown in Figure 6. The combination of the tie members 58 and 59 together with the cylinder 51 forms a complete and rigid cross tie with the guide rods 42 and 43. A piston 59 slides within the cylinder 5'! and is held therein by the cooperative action of a washer 59* held on the bottom of the piston 59 by a nut 59 and a bonnet 69 threadedly engaging the top of the cylinder 51. The washer 59 has considerable clearance within the cylinder 51 and does not restrict flow of fluid throughout the whole cylinder. The washer merely acts as an enlarged flange or annular collar preventing complete withdrawal of the piston 59 from cylinder 51. An ring 60 of rubber or synthetic rubber snugly engages the periphery of the piston 59 and is confined within an annular groove 69' of the bonnet 59. The O ring 6W permits vertical sliding of the piston 59 and provides an effective seal to retain the hydraulic fluid within the cylinder A second 0 ring 60 is employed as a fixed gasket seal between the top of the cylinder 5'! and the bonnet 60. The bonnet 69 is a combination piston guide and gland.

Fluid is carried in a cylinder or reservoir tank 6! mounted on the back board 16 adjacent the supporting structure [8. A pump 92 is positioned at the lower end of the tank SI and is provided with a handle 63 employed for manual operation of the pump 62. The pump 52 is fastened to the carrying board 19 by means of screw or bolt fastening means. A flexible conduit 64 has one end joining the pump 62 and its other end extends to the seat lifting mechanism. The hinge shaft 29 is provided with a bore 65 extending axially inwardly from the end adjacent the hinge member 21. A short nipple 56 passes through the hinge 2? into the bore 65 in the hinge shaft 29 and by means of a coupling 61 is joined at its outer end to the flexible conduit 64. Thus fluid under pressure may be delivered by reason of the manually operable pump 62 through the swivel hinge connection to the hinge shaft 29. The other end of the hinge shaft 29 designated by the numeral 68 may be similarly bored as shown at 69. A bolt 10 passes through the hinge 28 and into the bore 69 whereby the hinge shaft 28 is maintained in alignment within and between the spaced hinge members 21 and 28.

As best shown in Figure '7 a radial passage H in the hinge shaft 29 is positioned adjacent the bore 65 and is provided with a fitting 72 to which is attached a conduit 13.

The conduit 73 delivers fluid under pressure to a fitting 14 in the hydraulic cylinder 51. The cylinder 51 is so arranged and constructed that the fluid delivered thereto passes down through the annular passage 15 around the piston 59 and past the loose fitting washer 59 whereupon it fills the chamber 16 causing the piston 59 to be raised. This of course causes a simultaneous upward movement of the seat back 99 as the top of the piston 59 strikes the cross member 46 as shown in Figure '7.

A seat H having perforations 18 is hinged as shown at 79 and 89 to the seat back rest 46. Upwardly projecting spaced ears 8! and B2 are positioned on the seat H for engagement with the hinges i9 and 89 respectively. .As best shown in Figure 5 the seat Ti is provided with a space 83 intermediate the ears 8i and 82 and forwardly of the seat back 46. An adjustable bolt means 84 is fastened to the seat l1 and may be axially adjusted so that the bolt head 85 engages the seat back 45 to facilitate any desired angular relationship between the seat and back whereupon the seat may be inclined at a position convenient to the user.

In operation the bath-tub seat of this invention is normally disposed in the position shown in Figures 3 and 4 wherein the seat is stored in an up out-of-the-way position with respect to the bath-tub and permits normal use of the tub without the seat interfering in any manner. The spring 39 as previously stated exerts a downward force on the block member 34 and thus creates a counter-clockwise urging of the stored seat against its back board It as viewed in Figure 3. The spring insures that the seat will not fall downwardly from its non-operative position. When the bath-tub is to be used by a handicapped person the bath-tub seat unit is pulled down against the action of the spring 39 whereupon the holdout member 53 comes downwardly and as shown in Figure 1 engages the back board it. The seat portion T! of the device of this invention is disposed at a level substantially the same as the top of the bath-tub. The handicapped person may then sit on the seat 71 resting against the perforated back wall 56. An attendant exhausts the fluid in the hydraulic cylinder 5! by turning a pump by-pass valve 86 permitting the seat and its adjoining back to be lowered into the tub to a position adjacent the bottom 13. The handicapped user of this bath-tub seat thereupon takes his bath and upon completion the attendant effects a raising of the seat to the top level of the tub by manual pumping of the handle 63. Fluid under pressure is delivered to the hydraulic cylin der 51 causing the piston 58 and its associated seat H and seat back 48 to be raised upwardly out of the water in the tub to its upper level whereupon the handicapped person may be easily removed from the seat.

The full line position of the seat as shown in Figure 1 is comparable to the position before the seat is submerged in the water such as shown in the dash-line position of the device in Figure 1 and/or the full line position may be considered to be the position of the seat after it has been raised out of the water in the tub. The coil spring 39 in the position as shown in Figure 1 exerts a downward force on the block member 34, and by reason of the forward inclination of the arms 30 and 31 the seat and seat back are normally urged downwardly to a tub position. The seat portion 71 is folded upwardly about its hinge against the back wall 46 of the seat and thereafter the entire unit is swung upwardly about the hinge shaft 29, and as shown in Figure 3 the spring 39 now urges the unit rearwardly against the back wall I 6 preventing the seat from falling from its stored position.

Numerous details may be changed throughout a considerable range without departing from the principles disclosed herein and we therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted thereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A seat for handicapped persons comprising a fixed vertically disposed support, a frame structure fastened to said support, guide means connected to said frame structure, a seat slidably mounted on said guide means, and lift means interposed between said seat and said guide means for raising and lowering the seat on said guide means, said guide means hingedly connected to said frame structure for swinging movement between an up position and a down position.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the lift means is a hydraulic cylinder and associated piston.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 in which a fluid supply and pump means are carried on said vertical support for effecting operation of said lift means.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 in which conduit means joins the pump and the hydraulic cylinder, and said conduit means including as a.

part thereof the hinge connection of the guide means and the frame structure.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4 in which the guide means comprises a pair of spaced apart guide rods.

6. A device as set forth in claim 5 in which a spacer means is fastened to said spaced guide rods at a position spaced from the hinge connection of the guide rods.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6 in which the spacer means comprises a cross tie member fas tened to said spaced guide rods, arms attached to said cross tie member, and a support abutting member joining the outer ends of said arms.

8. A bath-tub seat for handicapped persons comprising a vertically disposed fixed support adjacent a bath-tub spaced therebeneath, a frame structure fastened to said support, guide means hingedly connected to said frame structure for swinging movement between a position adjacent said vertically disposed support and a position down within said bath-tub spaced beneath the support, a seat slidably mounted on said guide means, lift means interposed between said seat and said guide means, and spring means disposed between said guide means and said frame structure and arranged and constructed to urge said guide means upwardly.

9. A device as set forth in claim 8 in which the guide means is provided with upwardly extending spaced arms, a block member pivotally mounted between said spaced arms, said block member having an offset portion, a rod fixed to said ofiset portion of said block member and ex tending generally upwardly and constituting a guide for said spring means, and journal guide means on said frame structure for slidably receiving said upwardly projecting rod.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 424,730 Schoonmaker Apr. 1, 1890 766,320 Brown Aug. 2, 1904 1,076,808 Arburg Oct. 28, 1913 2,187,283 Scheutz Jan. 16, 1940 2,413,168 Cafirey Dec. 24, 1946 2,557,736 Fox June 19, 1951 

